The invention relates to an arrangement for controlling the flow of air compressed in a Diesel engine or the supply of pressurized air or for engine braking.
Such an arrangement is known from an arrangement disclosed in the German Offenlegungsschrift 41 25 831 wherein a throttle valve is provided in the cylinder head of an internal combustion engine for each or various cylinders and this throttle valve controls air discharge into a discharge passage leading from the particular cylinder to the exhaust gas conduit. The throttle valve is actuated by an electromagnet as a function of control signals from an electronic control unit. A hydraulic or pneumatic actuation of the throttle valve is possible instead of an electromagnetic actuation. The object of this arrangement is to achieve optimum engine braking operation by releasing the air compressed in one or all the cylinders of the internal combustion engine shortly before the top dead center position of the particular piston by opening the corresponding throttle valve and throttling the compressed air into the exhaust gas conduit. The arrangement improves the braking performance as compared with conventional engine braking by means of an engine braking flap valve in the exhaust gas conduit. A disadvantage however is that the energy present in the compressed air is not utilized.
It is further known from German Offenlegungsschrift 31 17 143 to store the air compressed in the cylinders during braking operation in a compressed air reservoir and to teed it back into the cylinders during power operation in order to achieve a higher cylinder charge. In this case, the control of the compressed air takes place by means of the inlet and outlet valve structures which normally control the inlet and exhaust gas flow.
It is the principal object of the present invention to improve an arrangement of the generic type in such a way that utilization of the compressed air for engine operation and further application possibilities is achieved in a structurally simple manner.